"Panic" covers the first stage of the U.S. enterprise, marked by modest progress under Chief Engineer John Wallace that ends when a mylange of tropical diseases strikes in 1905, resulting in a "Great Panic" and massive exodus of American engineers. It is largely the story of Wallace vs. Walker and marks the first appearance on the scene of William Howard Taft, whom we will see presiding at the eventual triumph of the project.

Wallace believes he has a free hand as chief engineer, but the Washington-based, seven-headed ICC mires him in paperwork as it seeks to prevent graft and extravagance. Shipment of urgently needed equipment and material is delayed, so department heads order things in excessive quantity and far in advance of need, creating massive logistical problems and plunging Wallace into despair. The French have left a fifty-mile cleared corridor, but their equipment, including Eiffel's beautifully tooled...